


Vowed Silence | Genichiro x Fem! Okami! Reader

by crestedhearts (orphan_account)



Category: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, I Can't Believe I Wrote This
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/crestedhearts
Summary: In which [Name] [Surname], pupil of Lady Tomoe and Lady Butterfly, becomes reluctant friends with her peer, Genichiro Ashina, years before the war that ends the bloodline of the dragon for good.
Relationships: Genichiro Ashina/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. ( 一 ) OF SKIN AND EELS

**Author's Note:**

> This story moves fairly fast, not unlike Sekiro itself. Please note that this takes place over the span of months and years so times may be skipped as a result.

NAME] WAS GOING TO throw up. Every stroke of the eel liver paint upon her skin sent the fumes spiraling into her nose, a mixture of decay and paint preservatives that did not smell pleasant or even remotely within the realm of nice. The skin of her back, bare to the world and exposed to the cold air of the winter morning, burned and stung with teeth grinding pain; she could feel every jerk and spasm of her muscles as they responded to the foreign substance absorbing into her skin.

"Lady Tomoe," she croaked, feeling her stomach lurch unpleasantly,"I don't think I'll make it through the entire session."

"Nonsense," came the soft voice of her mentor in reply. Another swift stroke of the brush, this time in the shape of the kanji for lightning, had her nose twitching. "I'm almost done. Just a few more minutes."

[Name] groaned and rested her cheek on the rough tatami mat beneath her. A cushion rested just underneath her stomach so not as to disturb the paint that her mentor was skillfully applying to her skin and she sucked her belly in to help with the nausea she was currently feeling.

Lady Tomoe's eel liver paint, while appreciated for its use, was not something that the young Okami girl would willingly walk into if she could help it. It left her skin smelling for days, and that was if she could access the sauna─a treasured gift from Lord Isshin to his manor servants and students─before the wave of soldiers came back in from the front lines. Otherwise she would smell like eel liver for weeks, perhaps a month if the water wasn't clean enough and soap bulbs were low.

The eel liver, however much she hated it, was required if one didn't want to fry oneself to cinders with lightning during a lightning reversal. Before the paint, she had suffered lightning strikes without a buffer to reduce the damage, leaving black scars upon her arms, chest, hips, and legs in the form of jagged lines that were eerily reminiscent of Lady Tomoe's own. Where the lightning struck, hair did not grow, and that included her armpits, which had been without hair for over three years since her training had begun. It also went for the fine hairs upon the rest of her body and legs, though she still got patches that grew in where the lightning had missed.

Lady Tomoe's brush clinked against a porcelain bowl as she retrieved more paint. She carefully tugged [Name]'s yukata down a little more to reach the strip of skin just above the dimples in her back, careful to avoid pulling it any lower for decency's sake. There had been incidents in which many soldiers, who had been too foolish to knock, entered the room without warning and were exposed to the lithe expanse of spine and skin, marked with chalky red paint. They stared─goodness, did they stare─before regaining their wits about them and leaving the room without a word.

Rumors spread like wildfire after; most about how she had a beautiful back, which seemed decent enough, until the girl had witnessed one conversation where a soldier wondered how far he could make her back arch before he broke it. That conversation still disturbed her to this day, mainly because it was Gyobu Oniwa─the last person she would expect to have some sort of sexual thought about her─who said it. She quickly stopped seeing him in a sisterly light and hadn't spoken to him since; not that she would have anyways, since he was put on the front lines permanently.

"Lord Takeru sent the loveliest persimmons to us this evening," Lady Tomoe murmured softly. She pressed two fingers into [Name]'s back, massaging the giant knots that had found their way into the muscles as she slept at night. "I was thinking we could share them after dinner."

[Name]'s toes started cramping up so she popped them while she replied,"That sounds lovely. I haven't had a persimmon since... Almost two winters ago."

"Yes, I remember," Lady Tomoe laughed lightly; proper enough to not be indecent, but casually so that her student felt her relaxing. "They were just a little unripe that year, I recall."

"Right, and Lord Isshin's face as he ate one was priceless," the girl chortled. "I'm actually surprised that he decided to sit this skirmish out."

Lady Tomoe abruptly stopped massaging her back.

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about..."

[Name], free of her mentor's god awful paintbrush, rolled to her back and onto her knees. She scrutinized her mentor's anxious face, furrowing her eyebrows carefully the more nervous she got.

Her yukata remained bunched around her waist, chest bare and exposed, so she crossed her arms to maintain her dignity in case someone entered without knocking.

"What's wrong?" She inquired. "It can't be as bad as you think it is."

Lady Tomoe squirmed, the beginning strains of her beginning to become uncomfortable. "The implications are bad, if anyone makes them, which I'm sure they will. You must swear, [Name], that you will keep this a secret until you lie in your grave."

"I promise," [Name] replied softly. The nausea in her gut quickly shrunk into something small and foreboding. "Until my grave, Lady Tomoe."

"Good." Her mentor sunk back onto her heels, defeated and relieved; a combination she had not seen for quite some time on her otherwise steel form. "Good. I'd have told Emma, Doujun's girl, had I trusted her enough; but I don't, and so you will be the only one who knows."

Emma? She was being chosen over Emma? Smug pride overpowered the worry for a brief moment. She had never been chosen over Emma the Gentle Blade in her entire life, at least when it came to medical skills and beauty. To be chosen now, when it was most important, made all of those memories fade away.

"Of course, Lady Tomoe," she said instead of the shriek of joy that almost bubbled past her lips. "But... May I ask why this is such a secret?"

"Should it be exposed to the public," she replied grimly, her lips in a tight line,"it will destroy Lord Isshin and, potentially, the Ashina clan as a whole."

[Name]'s heart pounded in her chest like a drum.

"Years ago─eighteen, if I remember correctly─Lord Isshin held a fancy for a young commoner before his conquering of these lands. She was quite beautiful; astonishing, really, if you could imagine anyone more beautiful than Butterfly."

[Name] could not. Butterfly was stunning; anyone who could be compared to her had to be beautiful.

"I never met her, of course, as all of Lord Isshin's fancies went. She came and went, unsurprisingly, and he was on to the next one. I'm not surprised that it took this long for her to come forward..."

[Name] leaned forward. "Come forward with what?"

"She had a child," Lady Tomoe explained softly, almost as if it were taboo. "A boy. An heir. It was like a slap to the face of Lady Ashina's memory. None of us knew when Lord Isshin rescued him from the battlefields... But one of our most loyal nightjar noticed it right away. Even Gyoubu commented on it, once, how similair he looked to Lord Isshin."

"I didn't know Lord Isshin was like... that," [Name] replied uncomfortably. She couldn't see the kind, older gentleman as anything but faithful to his late wife, and yet it explained so much about him at the same time. "And he just found him on the battlefield?"

"Yes." Lady Tomoe busied herself with putting away the paint in a small container. "But it is a theory, one I'm not willing to put in front of Lord Isshin himself. For now, we are to act as if he is a mere soldier of whom he has adopted. Nothing more."

[Name] carefully pulled her yukata sleeve over her shoulder. The paint was still only half dry so she let it hang loosely on her skin, leaving the other shoulder and breast exposed.

"It sounds like we'll be seeing a lot of him," she said slowly. "I thought he was to be a soldier?"

"A general, but no, Lord Isshin has decided that he will train under General Yamauchi for swordplay. He will join us to learn of the Okami healing techniques. Lord Isshin refuses to allow him to learn lightning reversal."

"But... why?" [Name] was genuinely confused. "If anything, lightning reversal could help make him a better general."

Lady Tomoe fixed her with a stern look. Her words, however, were soft and sad. "You know why."

[Name] grimaced and dropped her head low. Lightning reversal, while common within the Fountainhead Palace residents, was not looked upon with respect in the middle world. It was seen as heresy, a direct opponent of their teachings not to harness power from the heavens, lest they risk the fate of becoming a Shura.

Lord Isshin, while plenty versed in other techniques, was still spiteful that he could not fully master the use of lightning reversal through his sword; only his spear, the most rarely used weapon he wielded. She was certain that this too had a hand in refusing to allow the boy to learn it.

"Yes," she uttered quietly. "I do."

Lady Tomoe nodded. Her long black hair swayed with the movement. "You're done for the day, [Name]. Why don't you try to get some extra sleep in before we start on the night schedule? I'll wake you when dinner is ready."

The night schedule was something [Name] dreaded. For six months, nonstop, everyone in the manor would turn nocturnal. Not only did it help suffering soldiers, it aided in forced sleep cycles and quick sleep time which was an asset rarely found among the battlements. She would train at night, eat at night, bathe at night, and sleep during the day, before repeating it all again.

The exception to the rule, however fair, was Lord Takeru, and Lord Isshin, as the rulers of the manor.

With a sigh, [Name] got to her feet and pulled the rest of her yukata on. Because her room was so close to Lady Tomoe's, she didn't bother to make it proper and tied it sloppily at the waist. The pinkish lines of the paint stuck out of her collar like sore thumbs.

"I will," she promised. "Good evening, Lady Tomoe."

"Good evening, [Name]."

With that, [Name] turned from her master and padded silently to her room. It was bare except for a few trinkets and prayer beads from the palace. She rolled out her blankets and settled upon her mat with a tiny sigh.

Tomorrow would be a new day... A day where she would meet─hopefully─Isshin Ashina's bastard child.

She snorted into her pillow at the thought.

Right. Like that would happen so easily.

Fate, however, adored proving her wrong.


	2. ( 二 ) RAIN AND SORROW

RAIN WAS NOT A COMMON occurrence during the winter months, and yet when it was, it was a treat for all; snow would fall in place of water droplets, far less messy than, say, the mud puddles that would form after a hard storm or the droplets that would cling to the grass of the estate, wetting the shoes and yukata hems of those who would walk through it.

[Name], the Lady Tomoe, and Lord Isshin found themselves the only residents of the manor by dawn. Others had gone to play and make joy in the snow. Even the soldiers, usually stern and gruff, were having their own fun in the form of a game, throwing snow at each other and counting points.

Before, [Name] would have joined the masses, tossing her own snowballs and building her own forts; now, however, all she could fathom herself doing was falling into a long, deep sleep. Her bones ached─a reminder of the lightning's power─and every part of her body itched where the paint was. She would have scratched herself raw had Lord Isshin, surprisingly free from his sequestration in his quarters, not fixed her with a strong stare across the table as Lady Tomoe served the morning tea.

She only smiled bashfully at him in response. Lord Isshin had never been anything but kind to her in that respect, especially after the Gyoubu Oniwa incident that left her embarassed for weeks. He had noted the Okami blood within her right away, not even seconds after meeting her: the fluidity of your movements, he had said, give you away. Then he had jokingly stated, after Lady Tomoe had left, that if her walk hadn't given her away, it would have been her legs that did, muscled and toned from years of jumping into the sky to catch lightning, or just to complete the impossibly difficult aerial sweeps that her sisters mastered by their fourth year.

Lord Isshin accepted a cup of tea from Lady Tomoe as she placed it in front of him. "I hear that your training is going well, Lady [Name]."

And it was always an embarassment when he referred to her as a fully grown woman, even if she was just shy of hitting her twentieth year. In the Okami clan, twenty years was the key to womanhood; here, in Ashina, it was as young as sixteen years or even the first time they passed blood. Emma had been unfortunate enough to earn that regard far too early.

"Yes," [Name] nodded. Her own cup of tea was set in front of her and she used it to warm her cold hands. "In the next two years, it will be complete, and I will have earned my mask if Lady Tomoe allows it."

"You have earned it already," Lady Tomoe chided. "And yet you insist on going for the full term─you are skilled enough not to need it."

"I see," Lord Isshin replied. "Do you intend on returning to the divine realm once your studies are complete?"

[Name] frowned. It was not something she had thought about heavily, but the state of her sisters had been horrible before she and Lady Tomoe left. She had no desire to return to them. "I am unsure. The Fountainhead Palace was... not as it was when we left it. Should we return, I fear we will be facing monsters in their place."

"Yes," Lady Tomoe agreed. Sorrow entered her voice, chased with regret. "Their greed for youth knows no bounds. I had just barely swayed them from their decision before our departure, but I doubt that it held in the face of immortality."

Lord Isshin sipped his tea carefully. "And you hold none of this greed, yourselves?"

"No," Lady Tomoe sighed. "It was sheer luck that I found [Name] before she was corrupted. We had yet to consume the waters of the palace, for fear of turning into one of the many carp that swam below. However, that fate was much worse than I had imagined."

[Name] stared holes into her cup, recalling a particular memory in time where she had watched the gradual transformation of their priest, turning into a fish-like humanoid that did not resemble any known creature she had known. It was a disgusting experience; everything human about them was expelled and replaced with something similar but not quite right. They were not truly immortal, but they did not age; they could certainly be killed, but over time, who knew if they still could?

"Please excuse me," [Name] stammered. She finished off her tea and got to her feet. "I must finish threading my prayer necklaces for the month."

Lord Isshin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He knew that excuse as well as she did; she was disturbed and wanted nothing else to do with the conversation at hand. When he nodded slowly to dismiss her, she exhaled in relief, and bowed her head to the both of them before retreating to her room.

She kept her prayer beads in a box uniquely made to hold them. Made from the wood of the great sakura tree in the flower viewing stage, it was as pale a gray that could be considered white, with streaks of darker gray around the edges. It was smoothed and polished to a gleam, with the fountainhead palace symbol etched into its face.

[Name] carefully placed the box under her elbow and made her way up to the dojo antechamber. It was a small room that opened up to the rooftops, and while the nightjar were willing to turn a blind eye to her as she wove her prayer necklaces, Owl─a shinobi whose prowess was as great as his renown─would not. He would request a necklace of his own for his discretion and she could not allow that.

So she hid herself in the small room off to the side of the dojo with a sigh. The folding screen she used had been broken, perhaps during a training session, and the panels had been shoved through the delicate wooden framing. She had to make do with what she had and settled herself on a soft cushion, her box of prayer beads and threat in front of her knees.

Forty-two prayer beads. It was enough for ten necklaces─ten necklaces that would, hopefully, extend her vitality enough that she would not buckle under the pressure of the lightning as she got older. They were no larger than her thumb, some of them, and others were as big as her fist, heavy and dangling.

As she began picking the holes into the pearls, she noted that she was suddenly not alone in the dojo. It wasn't Lord Isshin or Lady Tomoe; their signatures were different and though this one was similar, it was foreign to her.

"Excuse my intrusion," the intruder said. "I was unaware you were here."

[Name] was ashamed of herself as goosebumps rose upon her skin at the sound of his voice. It was deep, throaty, and not at all what she had been expecting.

Feigning a sigh, she set her pearls down and looked up. Her breath caught in her throat almost instantly. She had seen many handsome men in her life─Lord Isshin among them, even as old as he was─and this man was no exception. He was as tall as Lord Isshin himself, perhaps a little shorter, with black hair that just barely hit his shoulders, which was unusual as only the nightjar wore their hair so short. He wore a casual yukata and kept a blade at his side, but [Name] had a hunch that if he wore his general's armor, he would be a sight to see.

She could feel the blood rushing up her neck at the thought. Thankfully, it was freezing cold, so any blush she had could be attributed to the chill in the room.

"It's alright," [Name] replied. "Most people are outside in the snow, so I had no one to warn beforehand."

Except Lord Isshin, however she had an inkling that he had something to do with this.

"I see," he replied. "Do you mind if I join you? I do my meditation paces here. I will be quiet─"

[Name] shook her head. "Please, don't let me stop you. I'm threading pearls. As long as that doesn't bother you, you're welcome to stay."

"Thank you," he replied softly. He settled himself on the other side of the room, far enough that no one would consider them as doing anything inappropriate, yet close enough to hold a conversation if he pleased. "May I have your name?"

"Oh," [Name] laughed,"my apologies. I'm [Name], a student of Lady Tomoe. It's a pleasure to meet you..?"

She conveniently left it as a question, just to make it easier on him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he was struggling─communication didn't seem to be his strong suit; orders, however, fit him nicely─and gave him a tiny, encouraging smile.

Goodness, he's as stiff as a board, she noted, glancing over his shoulders and sides. He was sitting so stiffly that it was a wonder he would get any meditation done.

Without waiting for his name, she inquired softly,"Am I making you uncomfortable? If you can't meditate, I can move somewhere else─"

Seeing that she wasn't about to remark on the lengthy time it took him to respond, he relaxed a little. Just a little bit, but it was a large contrast to the strong posture he held moments before.

"No, it's alright. I'm not used to conversation that isn't in line with ordering soldiers... " he trailed. "My name is Genichiro."

"Ah," [Name] nodded politely. "I figured that was it. It's nice to meet you, Lord Genichiro."

As the conversation lapsed, she continued threading her pearls and picking holes in them. She noticed that Genichiro was watching her, his meditation forgotten, with keen eyes.

"Pearls from the Fountainhead Palace," [Name] elaborated. He blinked, the only indication of surprise at being caught. "They are heirlooms."

"Of course," Genichiro replied, but it was almost bashful. Then, he asked tentatively,"Those marks on your arms... What are they?"

[Name] froze the tiniest bit. She almost stopped threading the pearls. She had forgotten that her scars were visible for everyone to see; Lord Isshin likely didn't want him exposed to the idea of lightning reversal at all. In an effort to soothe the prickling of her skin, she rubbed her wrist, which was char black and shot through with ivory thunderbolts.

"A price for my power," she admitted vaguely. He seemed to understand that she didn't wish to speak about it and kept his other inappropriate questions to himself.

Several hours passed with him beginning his meditation and her threading her pearls. The gentle clacking of the precious orbs did not distract him in the slightest, though [Name] had a feeling he was ignoring it as much as he was trying to ignore her.

As lunch rolled around, [Name] packed up her beads with a sigh. She had only completed half of her necklace, with several more to go. It would take forever to get the rest finished.

Genichiro opened his eyes and watched her as she closed the lid to the box.

"Will you be joining Lord Isshin, Lady Tomoe and I for lunch?" She inquired innocently. He looked half starved. "I'm sure he would be pleased to have you there."

To her surprise, he refused. "No. I eat with my men; perhaps another time."

"Very well," she said. "Have a good day, Lord Genichiro."

"You as well."

As she stood, shuffling the box around in her arms, he caught a glimpse of her long, well toned leg, nearly all the way up to her hip. Her yukata had twisted and when it fell back to neatness, covering the skin from his eyes, he felt heat creeping up the back of his spine.

Even when she was gone, he attempted meditation once again, and yet all his mind would focus on was the image of her leg and what the rest of her would look like.

With an irritated sigh, Genichiro got to his feet and made his way to the barracks.

If a good fight didn't settle his raging emotions, a long, nice sleep in the snow might do the trick.

One could only hope.


	3. ( 三 ) THE GREAT SERPENT SHRINE

AS THE DAYS WENT ON AND the first month of winter had passed without a single death, [Name] began noticing more looks turning her way than the norm. It wasn't as if she had changed much in the past thirty days or so; Lady Tomoe's persistence to get her to wear the noble kimono ensemble of the Fountainhead Palace had finally irritated her enough that she had forgone the commoner garb and donned her familial clothing instead. She had, at first, attributed the stares to her change in attire and went on her way as usual. She didn't allow it to break her schedule.

Lady Tomoe, however, had had enough of her naivete.

Tomoe cornered her in the painting room one morning, far before the cocks crowed and little before the sun rose in the sky. No one had woken except the two of them, the soldiers and servants tired from changing their sleeping schedules around once again. Even Lord Isshin, normally eager to take the day as it pleased him, still rested in his quarters, watched over by the nightjar as he slept.

There was no one to interrupt them and her mentor had most likely intended that.

"I'm sure you've noticed the stares by now," Lady Tomoe began,"yet I have watched you and you show no reaction. Why?"

[Name] frowned. Her thoughts ran a mile a minute and came to only one conclusion:"Why would I react to people staring at my clothing? It's not as if it's a bizarre article..."

"No, my naive little student." Tomoe grasped her chin between long, slender and pale fingers, turning her head to stare her in the eyes. "You have finally blossomed into a woman and people have started to notice."

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed."

It was one of the more peculiar aspects of the Okami bloodline. Puberty, while acquired at the same time as everyone else, was a long, drawn out process that took years to finish properly. It was why so many of them considered the age of twenty to be the final requirement to become a woman, ripe for motherhood. The changes in her body could have been minuscule to her, but obvious to anyone who was not privy to her thoughts. Clearly, she had been ignoring the changes out of foolishness.

"It shouldn't matter," [Name] said firmly. "Why would they look at me any differently than before? I am a soldier, just as they are."

"Yes, but your status as a woman comes first." Tomoe gently brushed dust off of her shoulders, patting the cloth down gently. "To them, you are desirable. Mysterious. Beautiful. It is only natural that they seek what they cannot have."

[Name] raised an eyebrow. Thus far, Tomoe had never neglected her intimate relationships should she have wanted to pursue them. Her training, while violent and dangerous, usually got in the way of that; she was stronger than the average man and could tear limbs from bodies if she needed to. Sexual relations were a form of stress relief as the war went on and nothing more was thought of it. And yet...

"What do you mean? If I wanted it, I could have anyone I chose."

"Yes," Tomoe agreed,"but there are men who are in... higher positions of power that wish to see you warm their beds at night, instead of the common rabble."

"I..." [Name] gauged the look on her mentor's face and found her completely serious. Not a trace of amusement. Her stomach started to twist uncomfortably--in parts of arousal and concern. "Who? I know only few men who would dare, and..."

Lady Tomoe laid a soothing hand on her cheek. "Calm down. They expect nothing of you, I swear it. I spoke with them briefly--"

"You spoke with them?!"

"Yes, but they came to me first in the case that you accepted without my permission. I will not tell you who they are; you can figure that out on your own, I imagine. One is very obvious; the other two, not as much. Please, let me finish."

[Name] nodded, too stunned to reply.

"You have managed to draw their eye and that is no easy feat, my student. They have your best interests in mind. Should they please you, any of them, a marriage will perhaps be suggested. It depends on numerous things. But the point is, you are a woman now, and things are changing for you."

"What do I do?" [Name] croaked. Her voice was awash with worry. "I can't... What if I don't...?"

"Then it is your decision. Not theirs. There is no formal rejection, merely a simple dismissal. There are no hard feelings in love and war."

With that conversation burning in her mind like an incessant ember that wouldn't go out, [Name] retreated to the Great Serpent Shrine. In the snow and heavy foliage, it took her some time to get there; the monkeys accepted her offering of booze and crackers, escorting her down the worn path to the shrine. She regularly sought out the abandoned shrine when she needed to think; while she did so, she managed the upkeep of the place, albeit more sluggishly than a servant would.

She had decided on not returning to the estate for at least a few days while she sorted out her thoughts. Her mind was erratic without the carefully managed schedule she kept at Lady Tomoe's behest. Without it, she was lost, and unable to keep up with her emotions as a result.

In a small closet she had stashed several blankets and a futon over a dozen trips spread out over a year. They were enough that they weren't noticed, and as she rolled the futon out to lay on and recover her warmth, she noticed that she had a visitor on the deck facing the cliff.

"Lord Isshin? What in the world are you doing out here without Emma?"

The older man reclined on his cushion, sipping his tea. He was in no hurry to answer her and so she carefully kneeled beside him, taking a hesitant seat on her knees.

"I find the air agrees with me here," he explained simply. He was relaxed and finally seemed the age he was; barely even fifty and a smidge past his prime. His illness seemed nonexistent for the time being and [Name] became aware of how he was able to charm women so easily. His personality was one thing, but his looks backed it up. "It's more humid in the estate, with other people milling around. It irritates my chest. So I venture here whenever I am not needed."

"I'm sure you're needed most of the time," [Name] argued softly. "I doubt the war would succeed without your mind, Lord Isshin."

"Leave an old man to his thoughts of war, mm? There's no need for you to worry about it."

"As you say." [Name] looked out over to the tiny shrine on the other side of the cliff, where a nightjar had laid an offering in obeisance to the great serpent. "You aren't old enough to be an old man yet, Lord Isshin. I've yet to see you complain of aching bones yet."

"Ahh, but the scars still bother me, as do the memories." He finished off his tea with a sigh. "Come. Let us retreat inside before the wind gusts tunnel through and give the both of us sicknesses."

Nodding, [Name] got to her feet. Lord Isshin followed suite, gesturing for her to lead the way, and stepped inside when she moved to pull the doors shut. They were thin and flimsy, nothing in the face of a gale, but would hold in the warmth nicely.

"I must return to the estate," he told her, hand resting on his katana,"but I will have someone join you in the meantime to bring you better blankets."

[Name] turned several different shades of red and it wasn't because of the cold. "I... You don't have to do that, Lord Isshin."

"Nonsense. I won't allow a lady to go cold, strong or not. Consider it payment for entertaining me for the evening. I will see you back at the estate, [Name]."

"Good evening, Lord Isshin," she whispered quietly, and watched him retreat out one of the doors and vanish into the snow beyond. With a sigh, she collapsed back into the futon, hand held over her queasy stomach.

He had called her [Name].

"He's one of them, isn't he?"

A groan bubbling in her throat, she rolled over and pulled her blankets over her head. In the cold, however, she succumbed to sleep so rapidly that she didn't notice thicker, expensive blankets being draped over her in her slumber, nor did she wake when the owner quietly took guard outside, protecting her as she dreamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to note that while this IS a Genichiro/Reader fic and that is endgame, there are other relationships to navigate: such as Tomoe and Takeru, Isshin and Reader, and others who appear later in the story. *wink wonk* So please don't hate me if things aren't with Genichiro right off the bat.


	4. COVID-19 UPDATE

Hello everyone! I just wanted to pop in for a moment to send everyone my best wishes as the coronavirus spreads through the U.S. I hope that any readers who may be in other countries are doing well and that everyone stays safe during this time. Remember to wash your hands, sanitize if you can, and avoid touching your face! While sanitizer may not seem important, it can kill up to 99.99% of germs (if your sanitizer is 85%, then sanitize twice to boost it to 98.07%!)

While the coronavirus is still somewhat low in cases in my state, that I know of, I'll have two weeks off from school starting next Wednesday to limit the spread. The flu is also going around here, especially. So far there are 98 cases of the flu in one district alone.

That said, expect some more updates in the next two weeks or so! ♡

Stay safe!


	5. ( 四 ) JUST A HINT OF SKIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little treat to apologize for taking so long to update! ♡

[NAME] SAT MISERABLY on the stone bench of Lady Tomoe's training arena. Accompanying her was the lady herself, dressed in an elegant kimono that was perfect for the occasion--the blooming of the sakura trees--and her hair elaborately braided into the Okami style. She had wanted to force her to wear something equally as beautiful, but one look at her face had made her decide otherwise.

[Name]'s menstrual cycles, while unusual and irregular for an Okami, hit her fast and hard. It was painful enough to rival a punch to the gut or a kick to the ribs. It was the first time she had gotten one since they had left the Fountainhead Palace, over four years ago, and it was paying her back for all of the years she had neglected her body's feminine needs.

"Do you need some more tea?" Lady Tomoe asked. "Emma can make you some more."

[Name] shook her head and lifted her cup. "No, thank you. Emma is enjoying the flowers. I'll probably go back to the estate and see if I can sleep it off. I have enough herbs in my body to tranquilize an elephant."

"That is true." Lady Tomoe sighed and patted her shoulder. "Go on and head back to your room. I'll be up in a few hours. Watch out for Oniwa-san on your way up."

[Name]'s stomach soured even further. It was one thing to be around men she didn't know and be forced to bear the pains without biting their heads off, but for Gyobu Masataka Oniwa to be there would make her avoid the entire building altogether.

"Alright. Have a nice morning, Lady Tomoe."

"You as well."

With her dismissal, the Okami girl turned towards the bridge that connected to the manor grounds. Tanaka caught her gaze and nodded politely at her before moving to take her place at Tomoe's side. She could feel herself growing tired the longer she walked. Her feet had begun to swell and soon her shoes would be too tight to walk in.

As she leaned against a post, out of sight from the sakura trees and where most of the people had gathered to watch, Genichiro appeared from the shadows. He only looked mildly surprised to see her, one foot raised to the wall so she could untie her laces, but that was perhaps because he was on guard at all times.

"Lord Genichiro," she greeted. "Are you going to see the sakura blossoms as well?"

"I decided to take a quick look." His eyes swept over her exposed foot and ankle, noting the indentions of the laces in her pallid skin. "Are you ill?"

"Hm?"

"Your feet," he repeated. "They are swollen. Are you ill or injured?"

[Name] swallowed the snippy reply she had in mind and sighed. "No, it's nothing I can't deal with on my own. It's a female thing."

"Ah." He watched as a painful cramp nearly took her breath away. Her foot slid from the wall, half untied, as she fought to remain composed. "Here. Allow me."

"No," she protested even as he lifted her foot to rest on his thigh,"no, I can't ask that of you. It's improper--"

"Improper?" Genichiro looked up and caught her eyes with his own. From where she stood he had a clear line of sight between the valley of her breasts, hidden beneath the cotton of a plain yukata, to her face. "You're in pain. I doubt propriety cares about that."

[Name] felt a low, burning coil settle deep in her abdomen. It flared to life every time his fingertips brushed against her skin, gooseflesh rising everywhere he touched. He either pretended not to notice or was internally noting her reactions in his mind and finished unlacing her shoe.

When she moved her foot, intending to jerk the shoe off and place it on the ground, his hand shot forward and wrapped firmly around her ankle. Her abdomen clenched so tightly that it was borderline painful. His hand was warm, calloused, and strong; it took him no effort to hold her in place.

He could match her strength easily. That knowledge made that coil burn a little brighter.

"Wait," he said. He pressed his fingers along her calf, testing the skin there for fluid retention, but all he was succeeding in doing was making more gooseflesh rise. "Hmm. It's all in your ankles and feet. Other foot."

[Name]'s stomach jumped at the tone of his voice. It had switched rapidly from mildly polite to authoritative, sending shivers up her spine that weren't from shock. She switched feet, kicking off the untied shoe and sighing at the cool ground against the feverish skin.

Genichiro paused at the sound but continued to work. When her shoe was untied, he repeated the same action on her other calf, but it was mostly to satiate his questing fingers. She didn't seem to mind or notice, too lost in the relief of pain to care about it.

"There." He lowered her foot to the ground and stood. "I'd suggest staying off your feet for the next little while."

"Thank you." [Name] kicked the shoe off and bent over to pick up the other one. When she rose, she was aware of an acute pain throbbing right in her thighs and knew it wasn't normal. Her arousal left her in a rush and was replaced by the out of body pain that had her seeing stars. "Sweet gods…"

The general watched as her face turned seven shades paler than it already had been. When she faltered and failed to hold up her weight, he caught her around the waist and wrapped one arm around his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"No." [Name] mumbled in his ear. "I… my room… herbs…"

"You want me to take you to your room and find herbs?" He questioned.

Her tiny nod was all he needed. She was fading, fast, so he swooped her up into a bridal hold and made his way to the manor bed quarters. He knew where her room was, vaguely, due to visiting Lady Tomoe during a meeting, and she had pointed out where everyone slept if he needed them.

[Name]'s room was small and bare when he entered it. Save for a few boxes that he had seen when he had interrupted her for his meditation, she only owned a thick blanket, a wardrobe of rich colors, and three pairs of shoes. In a corner, put into a waste basket, were blood soaked cloths that she likely used for her cycle. Even he knew, as a man, that that amount of blood wasn't normal, even for an Okami.

When he laid her on her bed, she felt blindly for a jar that was just out of her reach. It was filled with pearlescent orbs and had a cork stopper to keep it from spilling. He nudged it into her hand.

"Thank you," she whispered. She fished out three of the pearls and swallowed them whole. Then she curled into a ball, holding her stomach. "You may leave. I'm sure you wish to watch the sakura viewing."

"No." Genichiro crossed his legs and took a seat on a cushion she had left at the foot of her bed. "You don't look well. Emma won't be back for the next while, so I'll watch over you… If you don't mind my presence in your private quarters, of course."

[Name] cringed at the pain that enveloped her back. She reached back and pressed her palm to it but she couldn't soothe it; her hands were too cold. She wanted to tear off her yukata and bundle it up into a ball and hold it to her abdomen, but Genichiro was watching her with a look of pity on his face and she refused to do it. It was improper.

Lady Tomoe usually would hold her hands over her stomach and massage it for her back in the Fountainhead Palace, before everything was ruined for them. It wasn't the same, but…

[Name] eyed Genichiro's hands through heavy lidded lashes. She knew for a fact that he had large palms just by feeling him wrap his hand around her ankle. And they were warm, as well, soothing and rough. She had to fight to bring up the courage to ask him.

"Genichiro?"

"Yes?" He looked over at her. It was the first time she had actually saw his face clearly; he had the top half of his hair tied away from his face. He had very pretty eyes, much like Lord Isshin's. "What is it?"

"Can you…" [Name] struggled through her sentence. "Can you… put your hands on my… here?"

Luckily, Genichiro understood what she wanted even though her broken sentence. He situated himself beside her, knelt down on the floor, and held his hands out. "Here. Put them where you want them."

His face flushed red when she yanked open her yukata and pressed his hands to the slight swell of her bloated abdomen. He could feel the fluid retention under her skin, preventing him from feeling the hard muscle he knew was underneath. By undoing her yukata she had exposed the faint curve of her breasts to him, the pale globules of flesh taunting him to reach up and touch one. By the time he had began following up to her neck, she could feel the heat sinking down through her skin, and let out a relieved sigh. It was slow, deep, and affected places that Genichiro was having a hard time controlling. Luckily enough she was growing too drowsy to notice anything and, eventually, without prompting, slipped right into a deep sleep.

Genichiro felt awful for looking at a woman as she slept, but he had no other choice unless he wanted to wake her up by removing his hands. She still breathed shallowly, still in pain, and shuffled even closer to the edge of her bed, pressing in to the palms of his hands. His fingers brushed against the faintest hints of hair under her navel as she moved, the sensation sending rockets of arousal down his spine.

He needed to leave.

When her breathing deepened, he replaced his hands with a pillow and waited to see if she would wake up. He froze when she shifted in her sleep, rolling to her back, and the yukata tugged off of her breast and pooled at her shoulder. He stared at the rosy nipple that had been exposed to him far longer than he should have, the loose hakama pants suddenly growing painfully tight.

He really needed to leave.

But he couldn't. He drew closer to her, reaching up and touching the skin of her neck. It was smooth, riddled with the odd black markings he had seen before. He traced them with his fingers to her breast, just barely exposed to the black marks, and with bated breath, eyeing her twitching nose, gently ran the pad of his thumb over her nipple. It was soft but grew pointed, harder underneath his fingertips. Her brow furrowed deeply. He removed his hand.

He wouldn't do that to her. No, if he had to have her, it would be willingly. He savored the feel of her flesh in his mind, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned away.

When he left, he did not look back.


	6. ( 五 )  RELAXATION AND FRUSTRATION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Yeah!

THE SAUNA HAD been empty of visitors for the first time that [Name] could remember. Whether it was because of the sakura viewing or something else that she wasn't privy to, she had woken to an empty room and a frustration that could have only been attributed to the fever dream she had been pondering over for the entirety of her walk to the sauna. She could almost swear it had been real--the feel of rough, calloused fingers against her chest had been so vivid that it only could have been. And yet she had woken alone and knew that was what it had been: a dream.

"Lady [Name]," an attendant greeted her by the door of the actual sauna room. "Are you here to bathe or relax today?"

"Both," she replied. She hefted up her basket of discreetly covered cycle cloths and the other woman nodded in understanding. "Would you happen to have something for cramps?"

"Most certainly, my lady. You may ready yourself inside. I will retrieve the salts from the stores."

The attendant allowed [Name] to enter and shut the door behind her.

The sauna was large, almost as large as the lake that had been installed behind the estate, and was filled with crystal clear water that had been filled only hours ago. It had yet to be heated, so she went to the dressing room and changed into her silk robe. It had been a very expensive, very generous gift on Lady Tomoe's part, at the behest of Lord Takeru, who knew nothing of what she liked and ordered Tomoe to find her something for her birthday. It had been kind of him and she thanked him for it, especially because of the large price tag.

It was decorated with the Ashina crest, several cranes, and had been dyed such a deep red that it appeared almost black. Such a color was difficult to find now in the wartimes and she treasured it like she would a child. It felt marvelous against her skin, still sensitive from the dream, and she left it partially open to allow the small traces of steam in the room to begin working on her muscles.

"Lady [Name], I've returned with the salts, but…" the attendant hesitated at the doorway.

"Yes?" [Name] hummed in reply.

"The men are returning from the sakura viewing. They are keen on using the sauna at their return."

[Name] sighed. "I see. I'll bathe quickly then and find relaxation elsewhere. Thank you. Please keep them from entering while I do so."

"I'm sorry, my lady."

"It's alright. Here, take my linens and cloths. I'll wear my robe out."

She bathed quickly. It only took her fifteen minutes to completely wash her body free of sweat and another twenty to wash her hair and repeat it once more. When she was done, she exited the sauna and dried off, tying her robe in much the same way as before. She was too sexually frustrated to care about her own dignity at this point. All she could think about were Genichiro's hands touching her body and knew that if he ever tried to touch her intimately, she would let him. Without a second thought, she would let him.

With an angry huff, [Name] left the sauna and stormed down the hallway to her room. She encountered no one to take her fury out on and changed to a fresh menstrual cloth and yukata. Unable to do anything else but seethe quietly at her stolen relaxation time, she pulled out her box of prayer beads and began stringing them together.

***

Three days later, she got the perfect outlet for her frustrations: war.

Lady Tomoe handed her the decree with a solemn face. "I will not be able to join you this time. You're on your own for now."

"I didn't expect you to." [Name] took the scroll and scanned over it. It was the basic decree drafting her for the war and telling her the position she would take. In this case, she would be Genichiro's second in command, not Lady Tomoe's, and she would head the distribution of food and water to those affected by the battle inadvertently. "Lord Takeru is courting you, is he not? A war would get in the way of that."

"Indeed it would." Lady Tomoe brushed her hair back and brought her into a hug. It was the first time she had hugged her since her training began. "Here. Let me renew your markings as my last act as your mentor."

As [Name] removed the sleeves of her yukata, she paused. "Lady Tomoe?"

"Yes?" The woman lifted a bowl from a small closet centered in the wall, as well as an ink stone and brush. "What is it?"

"The markings fade with every use." [Name] bundled the sleeves under her obi. "How will I do them on my own?"

"Perhaps find someone to do them for you. A maid, perhaps, or someone with a steady hand." Tomoe began by tracing the barely visible whorls on her collarbone. "Perhaps… the general, if he is willing."

[Name]'s face flushed. "I'm… Sorry?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed," Tomoe teased. "You may be avoiding each other, but every time either of you are in the vicinity of the other the air is rife with tension--the kind that should be resolved. Soon."

"I don't think so." [Name] cringed when the smell of eel liver invaded her nostrils. "I doubt he's even interested in me. He's always been very polite."

"A polite man makes for a veritable monster behind closed doors," Lady Tomoe quoted from some proverb from the Fountainhead Palace scriptures. "I have no doubt that he is simply biding his time, waiting for the chance to strike."

[Name] shook her head, cheeks turning ever pinker. "Please, Lady Tomoe. Stop."

"As you wish." The woman chuckled and moved behind her to begin on her back. "Although… There is one other who is awaiting an answer."

She had an idea who that was. The tingling in her belly told her so. "Lord Isshin?"

Lady Tomoe peered over at her in surprise. "He told you?"

"It was a guess, actually, but I had my suspicions." [Name] squirmed. "Why me? He could have anyone in this estate. I know there are far more beautiful women here."

"Then you have greatly underestimated Lord Isshin's wants. He loves power most. I also suspect he has a fondness for you that transcends much of his desire for your power. Beauty is not something that appeals to his nature."

"You seem to have thought a lot about this."

"I had to. It made no sense to me: Lord Isshin Ashina, desiring the hand of my student? I had to suss out his intent myself. He was very transparent about it."

"As he always is about everything else." [Name] sighed. "I suppose I'll have to turn him down."

"Whatever for? He isn't that old. He's very active despite his age and illness."

"I… Well, I don't know. Isn't it odd, such a large age gap?"

"Girls have married younger than you to men older than Lord Isshin. But it's your choice, above all, and he will respect that. Speak with him before you go, but don't turn him down. Weigh your options as you battle far away. Then, when you return, make a decision."

Finished, Lady Tomoe put the bowl and brush up. "There."

[Name] rolled her shoulders and fanned the paste dry. "Thank you. And… I think I'll do as you advised. I should think on it while I fight. The other men tell me that all there is to do is sleep on the front lines."

"You're not wrong." Tomoe tidied up her yukata and shook herself free of stiffness. "I'll inform Lord Isshin you'd like to speak with him. What time would you be ready?"

[Name] paused in the middle of retying her obi. "I… Perhaps tonight? I don't want to rush this conversation on the day we leave."

"A wise choice. I'll see you tomorrow."

When Lady Tomoe was gone, shutting the door behind her, [Name] collapsed onto her bed and blew a raspberry at the ceiling.

How in the gods' names was she supposed to tell Isshin Ashina that she was rejecting his offer of marriage?


	7. ( 六 ) HEAT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT. SMUT. SMUT.  
> It's not Genichiro.
> 
> I tried to keep it sweet, respectful, gentle, and meaningful. Hopefully it's alright. I'd appreciate some feedback! This is my first time writing smut... at all. ♡

[NAME] DRESSED AS she normally did for every meeting she had with Lord Isshin. A plain yukata with simple embroidery, an obi, a pair of flat sandals, and a simple robe to go over it all. She kept her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck and swept a few strands down to make it appear casual and not like she was making too much of an effort.

Lady Tomoe sat on her bed, legs crossed, and held a hand to her chin as she critiqued what she wore. "It looks perfect. Subtle enough not to imply anything, but it could be taken a myriad of different ways… Not that Lord Isshin wouldn't figure out your ploy in a heartbeat."

[Name] met her gaze in the mirror. "I'm trying to be as natural as possible. I don't want to be someone I'm not."

It was nearly nightfall and time for dinner. Lord Isshin had ordered for their portions to be taken in his quarters and, hopefully, dessert as well if he didn't kick her out right away and turn in for the night. Lady Tomoe kept insisting that he wasn't as old as his years made him seem; [Name] could agree with that sentiment, at least physically. He had a fine facial structure, musculature that had yet to deteriorate from his illness, and white hair, peppered with black that had not turned colors. He was handsome, but there was an oldness in his eyes that made her nervous. It wasn't necessarily that he was old that gave him that look--he seemed to be able to stare right down to her soul and figure out what she was made of.

"Very well. You're right." Lady Tomoe rose to her feet and approached her from behind. She fiddled with her bun and made it just slightly less perfect. "I'm sure he'll appreciate your genuity. Did you shave?"

[Name] furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes, and I went over twice just to be sure, but nothing's going to happen. It's just a dinner."

"You never know." Lady Tomoe smirked, then looked outside. "It's almost time. You should get going."

With a nod, [Name] took one final look in the mirror and nodded to herself. It would have to do. "Wish me luck."

Lady Tomoe snorted, unladylike. "I'll definitely be rooting for one outcome for the night."

[Name] rolled her eyes and stepped out into the hall. Waiting for her was a nightjar, wearing the typical mask and feathered cloak. He had centerd himself in the middle of the window, and upon noticing her, held out his hand.

"What's this about?" She inquired. She took his hand and found herself escorted to the rooftops via the window.

"Lord Isshin has ordered me to escort you to his quarters," the nightjar explained. He allowed her to take her time getting through the window, careful not to rip open her yukata even though these kinds of movements were second nature to her. "He said you would enjoy a nighttime stroll to calm your nerves."

Straightening and keeping her balance on the slats of the roof, [Name] fixed the nightjar with a bewildered stare. "How did he know that?"

The nightjar shook his head. "I don't question my orders, my lady."

"Very well then. Let us continue."

[Name] had exited the window on the highest floor, which was on the other side of the manor and farest from Lord Isshin's attached quarters. It was perhaps one of the prettiest views of the courtyard as the nightjar escorted her, keeping well behind her but close enough to catch her if she, for some reason, fell. She watched the moonlight glimmering off the green lake below, the soldiers milling about on the connecting bridge. They didn't seem to spot her so she continued on, pleased with her discreetness, and basked in the moonlight while she was able.

They took the short rooftop across to Lord Isshin's open balcony. The nightjar aided her in stepping lightly onto the railing before departing as she walked along it to the surprisingly open doors of Isshin's quarters. He was sitting in front of an interesting spread of food, no doubt their portions of dinner, and was reading from a scroll and idly picking at a small tray of cucumbers. She was right on time, it seemed.

"Lord Isshin," [Name] called, stepping lightly off of the railing and onto the balcony floor. It was as elegant as she intended for it to be because his eyes drew to her soft landing. "I'm not late, am I?"

"No. You are on time." Lord Isshin closed the scroll he was reading and gestured to a cushion across from him and the food. "Take a seat. Emma just delivered tonight's food. The cooks decided on beef for tonight, it seems."

"Beef?" [Name] raised an eyebrow and settled on her knees across from him. "That's quite rare to have. For our departure, I'm assuming?"

"You guessed correctly." Lord Isshin took a sip of what seemed to be sake. No, she had no doubt it was sake, but it was extremely watered down than the normal sake he usually drank. He intended to be sober for the night. She didn't know what to make of it. "Please, go ahead and begin eating."

"Thank you." [Name] bowed her head and began selecting her food. She filled a bowl full of rice, added some of the cook's special sauce to the beef, and began eating. Her nerves wouldn't allow her eat to her heart's content like she wanted. "Lord Isshin? If I may ask you a question…"

"Proceed." Isshin set down his sake cup, giving her his full attention.

"How did you know I would enjoy walking on the rooftops?" She inquired quietly. "I know I'm not that obvious about it."

"I digress," he said, an amused smile on his lips. He really was handsome. "The nightjar have spotted you many times. It's only right that they report to me of any suspicious activity."

"I should have known. Or guessed, at the very least." [Name] shook her head. "I assume you have nothing against my nightly strolls?"

He smiled. "No. The estate tends to get stuffy after a while, I understand. The lack of privacy is something I do not miss. It's why I moved out here."

"I do miss my privacy," [Name] lamented. "But it's something I had to sacrifice to be here, it seems."

"Sacrifices," Isshin mused. "Yes, I know much about those."

[Name] blushed furiously, realizing what she had just said. "Lord Isshin, I am so sorry, I wasn't even thinking…"

To her surprise, he laughed at her. "Don't be foolish. I didn't mean anything by it. Here, finish your food. There's something I want to show you."

Before she could ask what, he added,"It's a surprise."

She pouted but finished off her food. Her stomach wasn't doing flipflops anymore so she took it as a good sign and added a little more meat to her bowl before she felt that she had eaten enough. Lord Isshin ate what she couldn't finish, and more, but she knew he ate far more than that.

When he noticed she was finished, he got to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. Her yukata had been wrapped in such a way that quick movements were punished, which she regretted. She took his hand and he pulled her up with an ease she hadn't expected. He then directed her towards a staircase and helped her down those stairs as well, only releasing her when he was certain she was grounded.

"You wanted to show me something?" She pressed.

"Impatience," Isshin noted lightly. He then nodded towards two boxes lined up neatly in front of his sword collection. One was red, slender in color, and another was black and bulky. She had never seen such craftmanship before. "There."

"I've never seen such work before," she said lightly, approaching the boxes and kneeling before them. She reached for the lid of the red one. "May I?"

Lord Isshin nodded. "Go on."

She opened the box. Inside, nestled between layers of silk, was a katana. But the moment she touched the hilt, she felt something evil reach out and touch her very soul. She jerked her hand back.

"What is this blade?" she gasped.

"The red mortal blade," Lord Isshin explained. He had moved somewhere behind her to watch her open them. "Open the other one. Tell me what you feel."

She replaced the cover and moved on to the black one. She steadied her breath and, cringing, opened it. Inside was a mimic of the other blade, except this one was black. When she touched it, she felt welcomed, warm and loved. "I feel warm… Lord Isshin, what are these weapons?"

"A set of blades that can sever life… or give life. The red and black mortal blades." He sighed. "It took me years to find just one. I am showing you these in case something happens. This power should be in no one's hands."

"I understand why." [Name] gently replaced the lid. "That kind of power is what destroyed the Fountainhead Palace."

She struggled to get to her feet. When she was able to stand, she turned to face Lord Isshin, only she found him standing far closer than she thought he had been. If she even breathed too much her breasts would touch his chest. Arousal hit her like a punch to the gut and she had a feeling he knew, judging by the smile in his eyes as he stared down at her.

"Lord Isshin?" [Name] breathed. Her lungs felt painfully tight. "What are you..?"

He held up a single finger and pressed it to her lips, silencing her question. "I will be fully honest with you, [Name]. I've had my eye on you for quite some time. I never intended to pursue you, and yet my interest was… piqued, if you will. Even more so, I think, when you began strolling by night."

"That doesn't…" she sealed her lips shut when he sent her a patient glance. "Sorry."

"At first it was your power. Your skill with a blade. I am not the first man to desire you for that, nor will I be the last. Then it was your personality that put it into perspective for me, and so I made my decision and asked Lady Tomoe to formally court you." He moved his finger to cup her jaw with his hand. "I still don't expect an answer just yet, if you were worried about that."

"I… wasn't going to give you one," [Name] whispered in surprise. "I just wanted to speak with you, and think it all over during battle."

"And your first impressions?" He inquired curiously.

He watched her swallow, her throat moving deeply. "I'm… tempted. Very tempted."

Her breathing deepened. She cursed the fact that she was on her cycle, otherwise she would have jumped the man right there. It wasn't her hormones dictating her actions this time; it was her mind. She couldn't help but want him. Her body agreed.

"Do you want me to move away?" He asked. His hand moved from her cheek to cup the side of her neck. "Be honest. I won't get angry."

Her voice came out as a squeak. "No. No, but I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"And why's that?" His hand moved lower, to the center of her chest, just barely brushing her breasts.

She swallowed again and this time he spotted the anxiety. "I… I'm on my cycle, Lord Isshin."

"Just Isshin," he corrected her. His hand dipped even lower, toying with her obi sash. "Blood never fazed me. Is that all?"

"No." She paused. "I'm a… virgin. I'm inexperienced."

"Do you not trust me with it?" He didn't sound offended, just curious. He undid the bow. She didn't stop him. "Inexperience is a part of life. I do not judge you for it. I'm giving you the chance to learn what experience does for you."

Her breathing picked up. "I… honestly, Lo-Isshin, if we're still being honest, I don't know who else I would entrust it to."

Her outer robe went first. "I'm flattered. Truly, I am, that you would trust me with something so precious. Do you still trust me?"

"Yes." He could see it in her eyes that she did. "As much as Lady Tomoe."

"And do you still want this?" He reached up with the hand not working with the knot of her obi and gently stroked her scarlet cheek. The coolness of his skin was almost scalding. "Do not let me force you, [Name]. Be honest."

"Yes," she whispered. He almost didn't hear it. "I do."

"You may tell me to stop at any time." He carefully unwrapped her obi and let it slide through his fingers to the floor. Her yukata parted just slightly, exposing a sliver of flesh from her collarbone to her inner thigh. "If you are in pain, tell me to stop. If I think you're in pain and you aren't telling me, I will stop. If you ever feel uncomfortable, I will stop. If you suddenly feel regretful, I will stop."

Her eyes were flooded with tears. "I… Isshin, I--this is more than I deserve…"

He shook his head and wiped the tears when they fell. "No woman deserves anything but the utmost respect when it comes to her wishes and body. I respect you, [Name], and desire your willingness above all."

[Name] was hit with a pang of respect for the man, more than she originally had. He was offering her a safe space to explore her first time with, with a man who would not judge her for her inexperience and would help her every step of the way. A man who would respect her wishes and that if she wanted to back out, would let her do so. She really couldn't think of a better person to give her maidenhead to.

"Thank you," she whispered. His thumb tracked a tear that traced down her lip. "I will admit… I was terrified to ever give it up. I'm scared of the pain, or the judging…"

"I will not lie, there will be some pain." Isshin gently moved his hand to the inside of her yukata, finding the small of her back and pressing her to him. "Think of it like stretching out a muscle you've never used before. It will burn, sting, pinch… but I will make sure to prepare you so that you feel very little of that."

[Name] smiled and hesitantly rested her hand on his chest. "That's all I ask of you."

No more words were to be spoken. He wiped the rest of her tears away and, gently, walked her to the sliding doors where she knew his bedroom to be. It was cleverly hidden beneath a staircase, covered with a thick curtain. He eyed her as if she were a startled doe and took care to make sure every step she took was willing, and they were. She was eased by his care, his watchful eye. He would know if any part of her was unwilling.

And so far, all she felt was willing.

He stopped her just before they reached the foot of his bed. He closed the door, made sure the windows were shut for her sake, but left open small vents to air out the heat that was sure to be stifling. Then he returned to stand in front of her, carefully removing the yukata from her body until her bare breasts were exposed. She wore no bandeau and only wore her underwear and menstrual cloth.

He touched the hem of her underwear, holding her gaze with his own. It was intense. "May I?"

"Yes," she answered. "Be… Be mindful of the blood…"

He knelt down and began carefully untying the ends. "I thought I told you blood didn't faze me."

[Name] held her breath as she felt the cloth part from her thighs. "You did."

He gave a soft hum and the garment fell away entirely. "It seems you have nothing to worry about."

"What?" [Name] couldn't bring herself to look down.

"Your cloth was completely clean," he explained softly. His fingers trailed hot lines up her knee and thigh as he stood, but he kept them on the inside and danced his way up. She nearly quivered at the thought of him touching her. "It seems you're in luck."

Fingers parted her folds. She inhaled a small gasp and Isshin allowed her to fall into him when her eyes fluttered shut. Just as she was debating grinding herself into his hand, he slipped a single finger within her, testing, gauging her reaction. When she did nothing more than moan into his shoulder, he eased that finger back out.

"Good, [Name]." Her stomach twisted at the praise. "Very good. On the bed, please."

She obeyed and sat back on the bed. Her thighs and crotch throbbed painfully, pounded in time to her heartbeat as she imagined the feel of his fingers again. She was growing so wet that she felt her folds slipping and sliding against themselves.

Isshin removed his yukata slowly. He was waiting on her to tell him to stop, and that she didn't want to do it anymore, but she kept quiet.

When he was completely bare, [Name] took the initiative and gently ran her fingers up his abdomen, feeling the muscles twitch beneath her palms, up to his pectorals.

"You may touch me," he hummed, amused by her hesitance. "Explore, if you want. Don't feel uncomfortable with me."

"I… Alright." [Name]'s touch became a bit more curious, a bit more exploratory. She rose to her feet, tracing his muscles, following the lines of scars that he knew he had, and gently ran her fingers over the one in the center of his chest. She didn't ask like he thought she would and instead, when she was finished, brought both hands up to his chest. He noticed that she avoided a very specific area of his body that she was to be acquainted with, but decided that maybe she was a little overwhelmed and trying to take it one step at a time. He would give her that time. If there was ever another time where she would want him again, he would urge her on. "Lean down, please."

As it was, he was much taller than her, even with her Okami height. He leaned down until they were nose to nose, curious, until she leaned up and met his lips with hers. They were impossibly soft and when he brought one between his teeth, grazing it slightly and following it with a sweep of his tongue, she got a little more comfortable.

He nudged her back to the bed and she fell back. He followed her lips, giving her just enough time to take a breath, before capturing them with his own once more. He skimmed the inside of her thigh with his fingers, the other hand hooking her leg around his waist. She moved her leg open wider in permission, her mouth just that more searching against his.

As he teased the flesh between her legs, he was surprised to find that it was hairless and smooth. He hadn't expected her to groom herself so thoroughly before their meeting. He wouldn't have been bothered by the hair.

Isshin gently massaged her clit, rolling his thumb in circular motions, and found himself mesmerized by the sounds she made. Her mouth fell open in short gasps and he took advantage of it, pressing chaste kisses to her lips or bringing her tongue into his mouth. She offered him tiny little moans, interesting squeaks, and when he denied her that extra stroke, a frustrated hiss.

When her impatience reached a head and her nipples were becoming too hard to ignore, he parted from her mouth and began placing a slow trail of open mouthed kisses down her throat. She arched into him, her clit shoving into the base of his palm, desperately seeking friction as he traced the insides of her flower. When he finally reached a bud, pink and ripe and flush with blood, he ensconced it with his mouth, sucking, pulling, nibbling at the delicate flesh.

She cried out just as he put two fingers within her, curling them playfully against her inner walls. "Ahh… I-Isshin, please…"

"Mm?" He rumbled against her breast. He traced it with his tongue, giving it a gentle bite with his teeth before moving on to the other.

"P-plea--aah…" [Name] gave a low, guttural gasp when he added a third finger, starting a slow, painfully rigorous pace. "A-ahhh…"

She bucked into his hand and he went a little deeper than she was ready for. She sucked in a large breath and her walls clamped down around him. It was too soon.

Gently, he removed his fingers and moved his mouth from her nipple. He rolled it between the fingers of his free hand as he leaned over her. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked extremely disappointed that he had removed his fingers from her so early.

He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips that had her following him for more. "Now, take it slowly. If you keep bucking into my hand like that, it'll be over before it starts."

"Sorry," she whispered against his mouth. Her fingers traced up the muscles of his abdomen and he responded, his member hard and twitching against her thigh.

"Don't be sorry." He kissed her again. "I'm giving you pleasure. Rushing never makes it pleasant."

Her next statement dissolved in a flutter of beautiful moans when he inserted a finger back within her. She didn't buck into him but had a hard time stopping herself, so he held her down with a firm hand. He set a smooth but faster pace, inserting another finger as he went, and just as her walls began to shudder with a telltale orgasm, he stopped. She looked so furious that she could have kicked him, but he kissed his way down her body and lowered his mouth between her legs.

Any anger she may have felt left her in a rush. Isshin pried her legs apart when her thighs clamped around his head, keeping them reasonably spread. He licked a long line from the beginning of her clit to the end, tracing the path with his teeth. She could have simply cried at the pure pleasure he was giving her. Sure enough, little tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

Then he sealed his mouth over her and began sucking. Her eyes slammed shut and the most erotic, shamefully loud moan escaped her throat. It seemed to be the reaction he wanted because she could feel his smile against her sensitive flesh. His tongue moved in time with every sharp suckle he gave her, shoving into her deepest depths, curling and twisting and writhing. His teeth scraping against her clit with the gentlest of touches was her undoing, the friction providing her that last bit of incentive.

Her back arched high enough off of the bed that she felt she would break it in two. Her skin was on fire. Her blood pounded behind her ears. Isshin refused to let her ride it out and mercilessly nipped, licked, and suckled at her oversensitive flesh, devouring the juices that left her after her orgasm.

When she finally caught her breath and took deep inhales that were wrought with sharp moans from the aftershocks, Isshin removed his mouth from her and slid up her body in one smooth motion. He pressed kisses to the underside of her jaw, took the shell of her ear into his mouth and pressed his tongue to it. The heat was enough to make her dig her fingers into his shoulders.

"Good girl," he praised. She could feel him between her legs, pressing against the swollen folds of her skin, hard and hot. He did nothing more than resume his kisses and praises until the throbbing between her legs became powerful enough for him to feel it. "Are you alright? Do you want to continue?"

"Yes," she croaked. Her vocal chords were strained. She leaned up and pulled him into a kiss, simultaneously wrapping her legs around his waist and locking her ankles. Her thighs were strong enough that she pulled him flush against her, his cock pressing deep enough into her lengthwise that he could feel her wetness already. "Yes, please, Isshin… Please…"

Her begging was his undoing. He gently loosened her hold on his waist and took himself into his hand. He rubbed the head between her folds, cloaking himself in her juices, and he watched her eyes roll into the back of her head. Her hips bucked, desperate for friction, and he slid in just a fraction of an inch. Her answering gasp would be imprinted on his soul.

"Tell me when to stop, or if you need a break." Isshin paused and grabbed her chin. She stared down at him through heavy lidded eyes. "Tell me, [Name]."

"I promise," she whispered hoarsely.

He pushed himself inside. Her eyes rolled shut once more and, now inside her with leverage, kneeled down over her and gently pressed his lips to her bottom lip in a kiss. Her mouth, once open in silent plea, closed and responded, only opening for every inch deeper he penetrated her with. By the time he was nearly halfway there, he felt her start to feel the pain. The muscles in her legs tightened further. Her nails dug right into his back.

"Oh… Oh, that… burns…" she gasped into his ear. He pressed sweet kisses to the hollow of her throat. She could feel herself stretching as his cock became engorged, swollen with his arousal. "Ah… Oh, yes…"

Isshin sunk in just that little bit more. "How do you feel, [Name]?"

It was almost an odd thing. He could feel her reaction to him calling her name through her inner walls. They spasmed around him, pulling him deeper without his permission.

"I… I…" [Name] twisted her head back and forth, desperate to gain those final inches of him inside. "Gods, yes, please! Isshin!"

And when he was fully seated within her, balls pressing as close to her skin as he could without crushing them, she let out the most marvelous moan that he found himself hard pressed to find a comparison. Her fingernails had dragged bloody trails down his back, digging into the curve of his cheeks, pushing him as deep as he could go.

He stayed there, unmoving, for a few moments, observing her face. Her pupils were blown wide with pleasure, her eyebrows drawn with want as she ground her hips into his. Her mouth parted in a wanton gasp.

"Do you want me to move, [Name]?" He reached up and brushed hairs from her face. She leaned in to his touch, following any form of friction she could get. "[Name]?"

"Yes," she gasped, jerking as he slid back and entered her once more. Her eyes went wide. "Yes, please, Isshin, I beg you…"

"Never beg," he told her with a kiss. "If a man cannot tell what you want, then he does not deserve your begging."

She nodded halfheartedly in acknowledgement, too caught up in her own pleasure as he set a slow, hard pace. She rocked with every thrust, her hips moving to meet his, her breasts bouncing on her chest with each hard roll of his pelvis. He captured them in his hands and rolled each bud between his fingers, palmed the sensitive flesh gently.

"Ah… Ahh… Ahhhh…" [Name] gasped as his thrusts became a little faster, a little harder, sharper. She could feel him bumping against something every deep stroke he took, sending rockets of pleasure straight through her belly. She fought for him to touch that spot every time, forcing her hips at an angle that was certain to let him reach it. "Ahh… Oh, ahh… Ha! Isshin!"

"You're getting close." He grunted in her ear. "Can I speed up?"

"Yes!" She cried.

His pace became so fast, so hard that she couldn't keep up. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her legs tightening around his waist. The bedframe, a plain bamboo thing, slammed against the wall with powerful thuds, matching every thrust with an audible sound. Her orgasm was powerful enough that she screamed and Isshin stormed right through it, chasing his own release, and he found it right in his final thrust, seated within her so deeply that it was too late to fully pull out.

[Name] collapsed back, head reclined on the bed, her legs falling slack as he emptied himself inside her. She took deep breaths to calm her heart, accepting the gentle kisses that Isshin offered her and the praises he sung into her ear. So satiated, she didn't even notice when he cleaned her up and changed out the soiled bed coverings, covering her bare body with a thin sheet that wouldn't leave her too hot in the night.

"Goodnight, [Name]," he whispered, cutting off the fire lamp. He kissed her forehead and adjusted the sheet around her. "Sleep well."

"Mm. G'night. Didn't regret it."

And she was dead to the world in perhaps one of the best nights sleep she had ever had in her life


	8. ( 六.五 )  DECISIONS

"SO, I SEE THAT the nightjar were not lying to me when they told me of my student's whereabouts."

Isshin Ashina looked over the rim of his sake cup towards the woman who had entered his quarters without a sound. Lady Tomoe stood in a yukata of fine make, embroidered with pale pink blossoms and dyed a deep, burnt fuchsia. She had left her hair partially down, exposing the fine gray hairs that she kept cleverly hidden underneath elaborate twists and buns.

"When do the nightjar ever lie?" Isshin laughed. "Take a seat."

Lady Tomoe did so, but not before shooting a sly glance towards the sliding doors of his room where just the barest peek could be seen inside. "She still sleeps?"

"Tired, I'm certain." The Lord of Ashina set down his cup of sake. "It's still fairly early. I'm assuming you aren't just here to make a point of checking on [Name]'s wellbeing, are you?"

"No, although I am relieved to hear that you…" her eyebrow quirked,"took seemingly very good care of her."

"The nightjar are also very loose lipped, it seems."

"That they are, but were it any other, they would not be so open. I am here to discuss the Tengu of Ashina."

"Ah." Isshin picked his cup of sake back up. "I wasn't aware you knew of that. Perhaps I'm not as discreet as I thought."

Tomoe laughed lightly, pouring herself her own cup but at a very smaller dosage than he did. She was not the one who had a liver of steel. "Oh, you are very discreet, Lord Isshin. In fact, I would not have known at all had I not witnessed you slip into the night during a particularly bright moon. Emma also helped in that regard."

"I see." Very subtly, he gestured for the nightjar to close the doors and windows. He watched as one nightjar stepped down the stairs just where he could see and stood guard over his room, where he could just barely see [Name] roll over and resume snoring. "What is it that you would like the Tengu to do for you?"

"It's… simple enough," Tomoe began lightly, a devilish twinkle in her eye. "Perhaps easy for the Tengu, but difficult for the man, so to speak."

Isshin had a hunch that he knew where this was going. "I'm listening."

"I would like for you to tail [Name]'s contingent. Discreetly. I'm aware that you haven't snuck out in quite some time and Emma has already agreed, granted that you take your preventive herbs before you go." Lady Tomoe brushed her hair back. "It isn't that I don't have faith in her abilities. I do. It is her mind that I fear for."

"You want me to keep her from turning into Shura," Isshin guessed bluntly.

"Yes. You might be aware, but those of the Okami bloodline have a much, much lower risk of turning than the dragon's blood. There is, however, a very large chance, given the amount of bloodshed and death, that her risk could be boosted significantly."

"And…?"

"If she turns, I want you to kill her." Tomoe's eyes were hard. "I would never be able to. I care for her far too much as both a mentor and, she may not consider me so, a mother. Genichiro is too polite to kill a woman in cold blood. You are my last resort, Lord Isshin."

"Very well then. They leave today? Give me an hour to give you an answer." Isshin reached up and rubbed his chin in thought. "I have important business, also, in Bodhisattva Valley to take care of. It would take me quite a while to deal with that… situation."

"Kingfisher and Orangutan," Lady Tomoe sighed bitterly. She eyed Isshin with a raised brow. "I could go in your stead."

"We shall see. I must deliberate first."

When the woman made no signs of moving from her seat, Isshin narrowed his eyes. She seemed to get the idea, then, and with the slightest huff, got to her feet and headed to the balcony. As the doors slid open, Tomoe asked,"Would you like me to wake [Name]?"

"No." Isshin glanced outside; it was barely dawn. "Let her be for a few more hours. When you return, I will have an answer for you."

"Fine. I will see you shortly, Lord Isshin."

"Lady Tomoe."

When the balcony door slid shut again, Isshin turned back to the sliver of view to his bedroom. [Name] had shifted once again, this time laying flat on her back, sheet contorted around her waist so tightly that it left no slack to cover her breasts. The nightjar remained firm, but he had no doubt that the man had closed the door just a little bit more.

"What to do, what to do," he sighed. He had a pretty woman in his bed and a metaphorical blade hanging over his head. Some decisions just had to be deliberated on a little while longer. "Damn you, Tomoe."

And thus, a decision was made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the paths between 'Heat' and 'Vowed Silence' diverge. From here on, the storylines will be completely different and have their own plots and endgame. If you want to read more (tasteful) smut, I'd read 'Heat', which is Isshin's storyline, and if you like slow burns, I'd choose this one, 'Vowed Silence'. I'll probably update 'Heat' more quickly because I have half of the plot typed up already.
> 
> Thanks for reading! ♡


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